Agreement with Century Old Non-Profit Fulfills Promise of AIMCO Settlement, Wins Praise from Partners S.F. 49ers and S.F. Giants
SAN FRANCISCO (Apr. 5, 2005) — Mayor Gavin Newsom, City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell today lauded agreements signed late yesterday by the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco to partner with the City in establishing a new Bayview/Hunter’s Point Boys & Girls Club on Hunter’s Point Hill. Together with an associated San Francisco Police Department office, the new facility is expected to significantly expand recreational opportunities for neighborhood youth while enhancing public safety.
The agreements represent a key milestone in securing $1 million in funding for the project from AIMCO, a Denver-based real estate investment trust that agreed to the payment last September to settle litigation with the City involving four federally-subsidized apartment complexes in the Bayview/Hunter’s Point neighborhood. The agreements also signify an historic partnership between Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco and the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants Community Fund, who will both partner with the Hunter’s Point Clubhouse.
“We have a solid plan to reclaim, renovate and rejuvenate Hunter’s Point Hill,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “A new Boys & Girls Club here will be a model nationally that can anchor the renaissance of the area. They have a proven track record and ability to bring about significant change.”
“In negotiating the settlement in the AIMCO litigation last year, we sought to forge a solution that’s constructive, creative and beneficial to the communities involved,” City Attorney Herrera said. “By any measure, the City’s agreement with Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco marks an important milestone toward fulfilling that promise. We’re proud to partner with an organization that is nationally recognized for its youth programs, and we look forward to working together to continue to revitalize Hunter’s Point Hill.”
“I commend the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco for their commitment to the youth of this city,” said District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. “Their commitment to ensure that all of our children have the very best is inspirational.”
“When we were approached to help on this project we jumped at the opportunity,” 49ers Owner John York said. “With the programs that the Boys and Girls Club provide and the improved facilities this is a project that will truly impact children and families in the Bayview. We were eager to support it.”
“We are thrilled to join forces with the City to further expand our Junior Giants program in the Bayview and to construct a new field where neighborhood kids will grow up making friends and sharing the experience of playing baseball together,” said Larry Baer, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the San Francisco Giants.
“This partnership to expand into Hunter’s Point is a very important part of our 7-year plan to serve over
20,000 youth-up from the 12,000 we serve today, ” said Rob Connolly, BGCSF Interim President and chief operating officer. “We look forward to being a part of the Hunter’s Point community, to working with the parents, the local churches, the Bayview Rotary Club, the Police Activities League, and other youth-serving nonprofits to provide a safe place for thousands of kids to learn and grow.”
Founded in 1891, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco (BGCSF) serves more than 12,000 youth in eight neighborhood Clubhouses and a summer camp in Mendocino. Dedicated to helping kids from disadvantaged circumstances, BGCSF provides a broad range of programs to inspire young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
The litigation settled last September was City and County of San Francisco et al. v. Apartment Investment and Management Company a.k.a. AIMCO et al; and Related Cross-Action, San Francisco Superior Court No. 404-010.